Bizarre Pre-Race Incident Could Land Denny Hamlin a Hefty Penalty

Coca-Cola 600 race for Denny Hamlin got off to an extreme start even before the green flag dropped. Hamlin’s Toyota dropped weight as the vehicle pulled on to the track for the pace laps. He fell 8 laps down towards the beginning so the group could fix the issue. Denny Hamlin was scheduled to start 13th in the Coca-Cola 600-mile race.

Denny Hamlin’s expectations of a second NASCAR Cup Series triumph in a row died before the race could even begin. This puts Hamlin’s group boss Chris Gabehart and a few others in the group infringing upon the NASCAR rule book. It implies a strong punishment could be in the offing.

The team of Denny Hamlin in deep trouble

According to the NASCAR rule book, the penalty is 12.5.2.7.4.d: Minimum safety penalty options — “Loss or separation of added ballast from the vehicle will result in a four Race suspension of the crew chief, car chief, and head engineer. If NASCAR cannot identify which series or vehicle the lost ballast originated from, all vehicles entered for that Event from and associated with the team organization identified on the lost ballast may receive the suspensions.”

The ballast is added to enable the vehicle to meet weight prerequisites. It represents a genuine threat to different drivers as it can crush through windshields and hurt them. In spite of the fact that Hamlin’s incident occurred during pace laps and in this manner at lower speeds. This is a significantly more prominent concern had it occurred in race conditions.

Notwithstanding his completion, he will probably be without the backbone of the team for the following four races because of looming suspensions for his group boss, vehicle chief, and engineer.

During pre-race pace laps, the weight dropped out of his #11 Joe Gibbs Racing vehicle. It compelled him to move towards the pit lane. For safety reasons, he was restricted from starting the race as his pit crew attempted to include another ballast. He, at last, joined the race after eight laps. At the point when a downpour hit the track on lap 50 which brought in the red flag, he was still in fortieth and nine laps behind leader Kurt Busch.

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